Jeremy Lin's Solid Houston Debut Is The Beginning Of A Nightmare For The Knicks

Jeremy Lin had a solid debut for the Houston Rockets last night, with 12 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals in a 105-96 win over Detroit.

His team outscored the Pistons by 23 points when he was on the court.

He wasn't the transcendent scoring machine that he was last February, but he broke down the defense off the dribble, found passing lanes no one else saw, and worked beautiful in tandem with new acquisition James Harden.

He was solid, and of all the things Lin could possibly become in Houston, "solid" might be to the hardest to stomach for Knicks fans.

Back in July, we wrote that the only rational explanation for why the Knicks let Lin leave is that they think he's a fraud. They had the money to sign him, he was the best point guard available, and if he flopped they could have traded his expiring contract in the the third year.

Therefore, the only way the Knicks will look good for letting Lin go is if he utterly fails in Houston. He doesn't have to be an All-Star, even a performance like last night — unspectacular but above-average — makes NY look bad.

Since the Knicks gambled on the fact that Lin was a flash in the pan, every game that he's not terrible adds to the growing nightmare.

Here's a highlight of the Lin-Harden tandem, which is now one of the most entertaining in the league: